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Oh hey, theatre people, awesome! OSheaman tipped me off about this in the Chicago food thread, which seems like a natural segue. So hey, I'm a theatre-lifer in Chicago.
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Jan 7, 2011 14:28
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| # ¿ May 15, 2024 04:55 |
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OSheaman posted:Chicago, the best theatre city Well I don't see how that point can be debated  Any of you going to be at the Winter Wonderland Workshop this weekend? rantmo fucked around with this message at 17:44 on Jan 7, 2011 |
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Jan 7, 2011 17:41
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From the little I've heard of it (I like musicals generally, but don't keep up on them) it's certainly not gfor the faint of heart. If you're really the strongest option, it doesn't seem like a show you can bullshit vocally. Also, this is where I make an obscure Goonsquad reference to Geekboy, something about Lights being a girl or something.
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Jan 10, 2011 23:17
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Just remember Geekboy, if they protest, they are upping your PR at no cost to you.
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Jan 11, 2011 19:36
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Sean Connery put it best, I think, all the way back in 1987; "That's the Chicago way!"
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Jan 25, 2011 23:37
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One thing that particularly bugs me are actors (and directors) who are single-technique. Different roles, different shows call for different techniques (and when it comes to directing, not all actors work the same way god dammit). Now I never really studied acting, I've learned as I went along starting at a very, very young age so I don't have a technique per se but I can appreciate the value of them. It seems to me though, that they are means and not an end of themselves, which is how I so often see them used. My instinct is that one shouldn't let technique become a crutch. On the other hand, Bale, DeNiro and Day-Lewis seem to be doing alright so I guess one's mileage varies.
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Jan 27, 2011 18:23
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I loving hate monologues and I wish they would go away forever.
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Feb 2, 2011 14:17
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I'm sorry, I should be clear; I don't mind monologues as a theatrical convention I hate auditioning with monologues. I would rather do a cold read with sides they put into my hands seconds before I went on stage than audition with a monologue.
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Feb 2, 2011 20:14
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It's been so loving slow in Chicago lately, there just hasn't been much going on anywhere. It looks like it's starting to pick up a little though, which is good. I went months before I got dropped into this production of Dracula I'm doing (with only three rehearsals before I went on!). I was really starting to get antsy for a show, so I'm glad this came along.
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Feb 10, 2011 13:54
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There's very little musical theatre at the Chicago storefront level, when I was a kid, I did a lot of musicals and had a great technique and skill level. My first show after over a decade of nothing was a musical. I have subsequently lost so much technique, it's truly depressing. I wish desperately that I could afford voice lessons again. The loss of technique has effected my speaking voice; I don't support from the diaphram because I can't seem to get that technique back. Even without that, it's a skill I've had atrophy and I hate that. If you're getting free lessons, for gods' sake take advantage of it. Even if you don't do musicals, what's the harm in keeping that skill?
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Feb 18, 2011 00:41
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Named Ashamed posted:Are vocal lessons good for learning to direct musicals? I've never directed, so I can't speak to how directly it would help, but I think it's valuable for a director to understand the skillsets at use by their actors. A friend of mine who's a director and tech person has started taking fight classes in advance of directing a fight-heavy show so that she has that insight into what the actors are called upon to do and so that she can have that vocabulary.
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Feb 18, 2011 01:08
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Well I'm pretty well set for the Babes With Blades fall show, as long as I rock the fight audition (and I will); I've been reading the part throughout the play's development over the last two-and-a-half years so it's mine to lose. My problem is that I can't even try for Idle Muses's next show because of the Babes; which is a great problem to have. I've also got a slot for the Hobo Junction season generals but I bet the bastards will have their shows when I can't do them.
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Feb 24, 2011 19:05
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I am a rational man who understands the historical tradition behind The Curse and why it's bullshit; I also take it very seriously, so much so I don't even like saying the name when I'm nowhere near a theatre. A large part of it is a respect for a theatre tradition and part of it is that, although I understand the distinction between causality and coincidence, I've seen some weird stuff happen and honestly, it can't hurt to stay on the safe side. All that said, I'm reminded of a common refrain from the second series of Slings and Arrows (a show that everyone in this thread should see); Macbeth is "very difficult to stage effectively." It's an amazing play and the pay-off can be so great but boy, it's got to be a motherfucker to wrangle even when everything goes well.
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Mar 23, 2011 20:54
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The appeal of The Curse to me really is a matter of tradition. I first learned of it when I was 11 or 12 and it was a great moment of entering the contiuum of theatre history for me; I'd been doing theatre at the professional level since I was eight, and that moment felt like I was really part of the club. I'm not a superstitous person (inasmuch as any Cubs fan theatre person can be said to be absent such), I know it's bullshit; I know the likely origin on The Curse, its mundane roots. I even have a theory about each step in the Curse-reversal act (at least the version I learned). It's tradition and that's what I like about it, it puts us as a part of something greater and older; it's sort of our secret handshake I guess. I'm not superstitious, I'm sentimental.
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Mar 23, 2011 21:44
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Back off monkey, I got all sorts of connections at your current theatre and I will rain vengeance upon you. Or, like, I'll have Josh make fun of you or something. Also, that Macbeth sounds amazing, it's available on film you say?
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Mar 24, 2011 16:56
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Well that's going on my list and would make a nice companion to McKellan's Richard III. Ian McKellan is Shakespeare's Utter Bastards.
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Mar 24, 2011 17:47
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ToxicSlurpee posted:What I was wondering is if the theater world has folks that only act professionally occasionally or do it as a kind of part-time thing. I'll run through my acting classes and do whatever in amateur theater wherever I go to be sure, I was just wondering about anything that might happen somewhere between amateur and pro. Is that common? Does it happen at all? Is there anything one can actually DO with an acting minor? What you're referring to is a phenomenon known as a "Chicago actor." Most of us at the storefront level (which is not to say 'amateur') work day jobs and the storefront scene is geared around that fact. I would draw the distinction not between amateur and professional but rather full and part time. A lot of the actors I work with are content to work at this level, they only audition for the shows they really want to do because it's a labor of love and passion for theatre. A lot want the Equity card and to make their living only through acting and there's the middle ground of people who make their living doing children's theatre, working Standardized Patient programs at med schools and however else they can manage it. As for education goes, I'm not sure it really matters one way or the other frankly. I know great actors who have no education in theatre, I know MFAs who are so bad I'd rather have my nuts stepped on than watch them perform.
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Mar 25, 2011 04:53
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Hey any of Chicagoland area-types; we're doing an impromptu Goon meet tomorrow at The Red Lion on Rockwell in Lincoln Square. We're going to be meeting up at 2:30. OSheaman and Hewlett and I are definitely in and anyone else who wants to join us is welcome!
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Apr 8, 2011 20:49
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OSheaman posted:drink This is traditional. My advice would be to read plays, just for the fun of it. Don't worry about looking for audition pieces or anything, just read to enjoy (and photocopy great audition pieces when you find them). OSheaman's advice to go to more shows is also wise and if you find a company who's work you really like, start networking with them.
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Apr 15, 2011 19:37
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OSheaman posted:By "networking with them" he means "sleeping with one of their company members" That's the holy grail right there (choose wisely).
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Apr 15, 2011 20:53
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I'm doing a staged reading of a heavy goddamned piece on Monday (just reading stage directions though), an amazingly well-written piece about autism. I'd try to get you to the all-female Romeo & Juliet my girlfriend's theatre company has up now but if you're leaving Thursday, that won't work.
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Apr 20, 2011 12:34
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Geekboy posted:Hey, maybe I'll get a call-back and have to stay an extra day or two. That Romeo & Juliet sounds awesome. It's a hell of a production and the fights are incredible, though that's what the Babes With Blades do. There are some amazing performances and some staging choices that make me want to slap the director. All-in-all it's the best production of the show I've seen. Where are you staying? It would be cool to actually get to meet you after all these internet years.
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Apr 20, 2011 18:11
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OSheaman posted:. . . Chicago Theatre Goonmeet part 2? Hell yeah! OSheaman posted:And rantmo where is this staged reading taking place It's at the Stop Smiling studio, 1371 N. Milwaukee at 8 pm. It's part of the Inchworm Playreading festival.
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Apr 20, 2011 21:52
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Burger Crime posted:Man, I should just move to Chicago. You guys have great stuff going on, I would love to see that production of R+J. Are you all doing theatre full time in Chicago? Not full-time, but pretty consistently. Most of us work at the storefront level, which operates on the assumption that everyone involved has a day job of some sort. I know a number of people who are able to work exclusively in the arts, usually by doing children's theatre and teaching and then doing other random things like Standardized Patient programs at medical schools (OSheaman, did you email Rick?). Not a ton of shows pay much, if at all, since everyone is broke but the quality of work is very high. We do have plenty of Equity houses and that's another world entirely, but not one that can't be accessed. Chicago really is the best place to do theatre so far as I can tell. The community is great, the shows are the best in the world, the theatre goons are attractive and prone to drinking.
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Apr 20, 2011 22:27
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OSheaman posted:And I'm coming to that staged reading. It's free, right? Free rules. I see absolutely nothing to indicate that it's not free.
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Apr 21, 2011 12:31
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OSheaman posted:Is the play *about* Hawaii? Can I play the white imperialist aggressor? loving Method actors.
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Apr 22, 2011 00:24
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Yeah, someone does it every year though I can think of which company it is.
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May 3, 2011 21:17
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OSheaman posted:So Sunday's performance of my show was interrupted by a fire alarm and everyone had to leave the building. Cue 20 minutes of actors and audience standing awkwardly outside together while the fire trucks show up. Turns out the kitchen for the restaurant downstairs had burned something and the whole room was full of smoke. Maybe thought we were going to cancel and refund but nope, everybody piled back in and we re-started the scene. I don't know that my Attic story can top that but I can compete: we had the dimmer box overheat and go tits-up in the middle of a show. We got a few laughs from one of the wittier smart-asses quipping about temporary blindness and rich people not paying their bills. We had to do the rest of the show under works. Also, they may be bastards that set their kitchen aflame but they make great loving naan.
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May 10, 2011 18:35
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I just finished listening to the cast recording of Book of Mormon and that show is going to win a shitload of Tonys. It's really good (from the sound of it).
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May 30, 2011 23:47
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Geekboy posted:I keep meaning to listen to it. All the right people are recommending it to me, so it may be about time. So I've been meaning to ask you, Geek, how did your X-Factor audition go and did you actually end up on air? I heard about a guy who sang some pop song and it made me wonder if that was you.
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May 31, 2011 04:56
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Geekboy posted:It was miserable and taught me why I never want to be involved in a competition like that again. I sang my song well (Aint That Good News by Sam Cooke), but I didn't have on any neon, wasn't dressed as a super hero, don't swagger like a cocky rear end in a top hat and don't fit into an instantly recognizable box that could be marketed to 12 year old girls by even the dumbest of ad executives. I had a similar experience auditioning for a show about the people who didn't get cast in the 80's Mickey Mouse Club, which I did and was apparently damned close to becoming Justin Timberlake; I auditioned with a showtune and while they liked my personality, they weren't interested. For the best I suppose, not being a pop singer in the least. Geekboy posted:I loved spending some more time in Chicago, though. Took my Mom (who drove out there with me as a last minute replacement for the person who was supposed to go but ended up having a panic attack as I was going out to start my truck to leave) through Millenium Park and the Art Institute on the one free day we had and we took a ghetto tour of Oak Park on the way home. I was broke as hell, so I just pulled up a map of the Wright homes in the neighborhood on my phone and we walked around and looked at them. Had such a great time and can't wait until I get a chance to go to Chicago again. Definitely the best city I've had a chance to spend time in. I'm glad you liked it and I'm sorry we didn't get a chance to meet, but next time you're around we will. Also, next time you're around you'll have to take in some storefront theatre. Geekboy posted:I just finally started back to work this week after almost a year on unemployment Congratulations dude! Geekboy posted:I really want to direct something for next season and keep waffling between doing a modern dress Cyrano De Bergerac or some adaptation of Faust. I cut my teeth directing Little Shop of Horrors, so doing Faust would be like going back to the source material. I saw a very interesting take on Faust a few years back; the best way I can describe it was Kraut-rock. Everything was black, white and red, very angular and funny as hell. They really played up the comedy in the script and in Faust's joy at his powers, it was very effective. The other interesting choice was that Mephistopheles was played by a woman. There's a lot of interesting stuff that comes out of the text with that. Geekboy posted:I really love Cyrano and think I could sell tickets to it pretty easily, though. Anyone who doesn't love Cyrano is a monster What translation would you use? I'm a Hooker man myself ( ) though I see the virtues in Burgess. I don't know what I make of a modern-dress Cyrano, I don't know why it wouldn't work but you have to keep the swords because it's a moral imperative. I'd love to see old-fashioned stage magic used more; there's a lot of cool, simple stuff that can be done (and I'd love to learn those tricks too) without having to spend money. Cleverness is key.
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Jun 2, 2011 03:09
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Well I don't have any experience with playing such an iconic role (or the musical derivation thereof) but I guess I'd tell you to make the character your own just like any other role. At the very least, please, please, please don't do the Matthew Broderick and just pretend to be Gene Wilder. That market is well and truly cornered.
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Jun 3, 2011 19:50
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Yeah the blanket scene will be tough, though I really think it was only done well the once. Sounds like you're off to a good start though.
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Jun 3, 2011 21:20
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You don't need to do it yourself, when you export it to .pdf you can select that as an option to automatically format that way.
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Jun 18, 2011 22:41
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El Tortuga posted:One thing I hate is hearing actors talk about how they single-handedly "saved the show". Don't judge me.
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Jul 5, 2011 05:36
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I saw the Company broadcast and I really liked it. I too enjoyed Patti Lupone despite generally not liking her. John Cryer too for that matter. I enjoyed the performance quite a lot though I'm not sure that I care much for the show itself.
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Jul 9, 2011 23:59
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Alaemon posted:That is an absolutely appalling concept. Welcome to the magical world of school edits. At least they're getting exposure to Sondheim and his style. poo poo, at least they're doing a musical at all.
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Aug 6, 2011 15:37
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Does anyone else have it happen where tech week sort of comes up out of nowhere? I mean, I always no when tech week is because it's on the schedule but every time that Monday hits, it's kind of a surprise. That said, this week is going to be awesome provided my arm doesn't fall off.
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Aug 8, 2011 13:51
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Alaemon posted:This isn't "horribly wrong," it's just one that amuses me. My college does some outdoor shows during the summer. In one play, an actor was onstage just about to start his monologue when a duck lands on the stage. (This is a duck used to being fed by college students and so wholly unafraid of people.) So, in the spirit of show-must-go-on, he gives his entire monologue to the duck. That's one of the best things I've ever heard. Hell, there are more than a few from Shakespeare where the addition of a duck would be a sublime moment.
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Aug 22, 2011 20:12
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| # ¿ May 15, 2024 04:55 |
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T'was the Port Washington Pirate Festival, two summers ago, we were having our first run-through of the big fight show on the site. We had some light pyro going off in the rocks well behind us, some re-enactors firing muskets into the air and a cannon being fired off as fast as it could be loaded. As is so often the case, it was the canon that was the problem. Actually, it was Tyler, one of the fighters that was the problem. It was a three-person phrase, and at precisely the wrong moment, Tyler lost his footing and wound up a foot away from the barrel of the canon as my friend (and one of the violence designers for the show) pulled the trigger (well he pulled a string, but same thing). He eventually stood, more-or-less under his own power but understandably rattled. Canons like these obviously don't shoot projectiles, but they do ignite black powder and launch little bits of aluminum foil at something slightly higher than the speed of sound. The concussive force rang his bell but good. He had the presence of mind, in that split second between realizing that he was in the worst place on the field and his run-in with the physics of warfare, to cover his head and turn away. He was riddled with chunks of foil though. Ultimately the EMTs were called and since they had absolutely no experience with superficial abrasions resulting from canons at point-goddamned-blank range, they took him to the ER. When the attending physician asked him what caused his injuries and he responded "a canon," the doctor literally dropped their pen. He was alright though, and fought the rest of the weekend (except one bit that would have involved him falling into Lake Michigan). He did have to scrub vigorously with an antibacterial soap for several weeks thereafter and he had to patch his costume, as it too had been riddled with canon blast. He also had to endure the nicknames "Grapeshot" and "Target" for some time. I've got gobs of things going wrong stories that I can tell. Maybe I'll do Richard III vs. King Lear's weather later on.
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Aug 23, 2011 01:39
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